Cushioned pusher cup attachment for bulldozer mold boards



2,999,697 CUSHIQNED PUSHER CUP ATTACHMENT FOR BULLDOZER MOLD BOARDS Filed June 10. 1957 W. A- WINGET Sept. 12, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. WINGET BY ATTORNEY Sept. 12, 1961 w. A. WINGET CUSHIONED PUSHER CUP ATTACHMENT FOR BULLDOZER MOLD BOARDS Filed June 10, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. WINGET BY ATTORNEY Sept. 12, 1961 w. A. WINGET CUSHIONED PUSHER CUP ATTACHMENT FOR BULLDOZER MOLD BOARDS Filed June 10. 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. WINGET BY W ATTORNEY 2,999,697. CUSHIONED. PUSHER CUP ATTACHMENT FOR BULLDOZER MOLD, BO R S. William A. Winget, Perry Chapel Road,

Rte. 2, Lima, Ohio Filed June '10, 1957, Ser. No; 664,732

3 Claims. (Cl. 280-481) This invention relates to pusher cup attachments for tractors and an object is to produce a rugged and depend able pusher cup attachment which is yieldable for preventing expensive damage not infrequently occasioned in the use of such attachments, in this case the'pusher cup resilient yielding upon engagement with a scraper-loader vehicle or the like.

Another object is to produce a pusher cup attachment which can be mounted in an extremely simple manner upon a bulldozer mold board. i

A further object is to produce a pusher cup attachment having the new and improved features of construction, arrangement and mounting hereinafter described and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, embodiments of the invention are shown on the accompanying drawings in which: i

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of the pusher cup attachment, showing the same mounted upon a bull dozer mold board, the latter being shown in fragment and by broken lines;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the pusher cup attachment showing by broken lines a mold board;

FIGURE 3 is a rear end elevation of the pusher cup member taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and showing in section a fragment of the backing member to which the p r p. membe s piv t d;

FIGURE 4 is a rear end elevation of the pusher cup attachment taken on the line of FIGURE 2 showing it mounted upon a bulldozer mold board, the latter being shown fragmentarily; and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of an alternate form of mounting for the pusher cup directly on the tractor frame.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a crawler mounted tractor T having at the front end the usual mold board M which is suitably connected to the tractor by the usual U,-frame F for up and down rocking and adusting movements, a hoist device H being indicated for such purpose.

In accordance with this invention a pusher cup attachment is hooked over the top of the mold board M, and as shown it comprises a backing member constituting a fabricated structure made up of a plurality of heavy metal plates suitably welded together. It will be observed that the attachment is mounted centrally of the mold board and occupies a relatively small area intermediate the ends thereof, the bottom of the attachment being spaced upwardly from the lower edge of the mold board, particularly as indicated on FIGURE 2. The rear face 11 of the backing member intimately engages the front face of the mold board and conforms to the curvature thereof.

On the rear of the backing member disposed near the top thereof and one arranged at each end is a bracket plate 12 which is secured in place by a plurality of bolts 13. Integral with the plate 12 and disposed vertically is a rearward extension plate 14 which terminates in a vertically disposed depending arm 15 which provides a hook to hook over the upper end of the mold board. Thus there are two hooks which hook over the mold board, and to secure the attachment in position each of the arms 15 is provided with a set screw 16 which can be tightened against the rear face of the mold board M. In front of the backing member 10 is a pusher cup member 17 which is similarly of a fabricated structure produced from a 2,999,69? Patented Sept. 12, 1981 plurality of heavy metal plates welded together to afford the desired strength and ruggedness. The member 17 face 10 of the backing member 10. At the upper end of the member 18 and at opposite ends are fureated upwardly and rearwardly extending supporting arms 20. The arms 20 are pivotally connected by pivots 22 to forwardly and upwardly extending bracket arms 21 on the backing member 10. Manifestly the height of the pusher cup member 18 is considerably less than that of the backing member 10 so that in effect the pusher cup member is suspended from the backing member 10 by the arms 20.

interposed between the rear face of the pusher cup member 18 and the front face of the backing member 10 is a horizontal row of helical coil springs or cushion ing means 24, the front ends of which are disposed in cups 23 rigid with the rear face of the pusher cup member and the rear ends of the springs being disposed within cups 25 rigid with the front face of the backing member 10. Thus it will be observed that when the pusher cup member 17 is brought int'o'e'ngagement with a vehicle such as a scraper-loader, the springs 24 can yield allowing the pusher cup member 17 to be resiliently restrained in its rearward movement toward the backing member,

the springs taking up the shock 'so thatdarnage to the pusher cup as well as the bulldozer parts is obviated.

In order to limit the movement of the pusher cup member 17- away' from the'backing' member 10, pairs of stop hooks 26'and 27 are disposed at opposite ends of the parts, the hooks 27 being carried by the pusher cup '17- and secured by screws 28 and the hooks 26 being carried by the backing member 10 and secured'by screws 29. If desired,the hooks 2'6 and 27 may be adjusted in alnd out by disposing the mounting screws in elongate s ots In order to accommodate different types of mold boards M the backing member '10 may be replaced by other forms of backing members which are contoured to fit the particular mold board. i i

It will be manifest from the above description that the attachment can be readily mounted or removed from the mold board, it being necessary only to hook the depend"- ing arms 15'over the rear' of ther'n'old'bo'ard and tightening up on the screws 16 to position the attachment for use. Of course by merely loosening the screws 16, the attachment can be lifted from the mold board in a relatively simple manner.

The form of the invention shown in FIGURE 5 is similar to that above described and similar parts are identified by the same reference numerals plus the subscript a. The pusher cup member 17a and backing member 10a are substantially in accordance with the previous form. Coil springs 24a are suitably mounted and arranged. However, in this form, the pusher cup assembly, instead of being hooked over the mold board, is secured directly to the frame of the crawler-driven tractor T. For that purpose, at each end of the backing member 10a is bolted a bracket 30 by bolts 30a (only one of which is illustrated) and rigid with each bracket is a rearwardly extending arm 31 which is secured by bolts 32 to the forward side portion of the tractor frame. Thus, under certain conditions the mold board and pivoted U-frame may be removed and the pusher cup assembly mounted directly on the frame of the tractor.

As shown in FIGURE 5 one or more hydraulic shock absorbers 33 of any well known or suitable construction are interposed between and pivoted to the backing member and the pusher cup member by bolts 33a and 33b respectively for retarding or cushioning the action of the coil springs or cushioning means 24a in moving the pusher cup member when the force or pres sure against same is removed. The shock absorbers may also be used to advantage in the form shown on FIGURES 1 to 4.

Numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and choice of materials may be eflected without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A pusher attachment for tractors comprising a vertically disposed backing member having a pair of laterally spaced up and down flat plate portions, means for rigidly securing said backing member to one end of a tractor so that forces imparted to the pusher member are transmitted to the tractor, a forwardly disposed member positioned in advance of said backing member and having a pair of laterally spaced up and down flat plate portions overlapping respectively portions of the adjacent fiat plate portions of said backing member, a pivotal connection between said forwardly disposed member and said backing member so that the forwardly disposed member is connected to the backing member for shifting movements toward and away therefrom, the arrangement being such that the flatwise engagement of said plate portions resists transverse or sidewise movements of the forwardly disposed member relative to the backing member and confines the relative movements therebetween to movements toward and away from each other, and cushioning means between the backing and forwardly disposed members for cushioning the rearward movement of the forwardly disposed member.

2. A pusher attachment for tractors comprising a vertically disposed backing member, means for rigidly securing said backing member to one end of a tractor so that forces imparted to the pusher member are transmitted to the tractor, a forwardly disposed member positioned in advance of said backing member, a pivotal connection between said forwardly disposed member and said backing member so that the forwardly disposed member is connected to the backing member for shifting movements toward and away therefrom, vertically disposed interdigitated plates in substantially flatwise abutting relationship on said backing and forwardly disposed members respectively and arranged to resist transverse or sidewise movements of the forwardly disposed member relative to the backing member and confine the relative movements therebetween to movements toward and away from each other, and cushioning means between the backing and forwardly disposed members for cushioning the rearward movement of the forwardly disposed member.

3. A pusher attachment for a bulldozer adapted to be mounted longitudinally and centrally exteriorly ahead of the moldboard of the bulldozer and substantially to cover a portion of the same, said pusher attachment comprising a vertically disposed backing member having a longitudinally elongate rear face provided with a substantial portion of approximately the same curvature as that of the moldboard and a longitudinally elongate front face, clamp means on the upper end of the backing member for releasably securing said backing member in intimate abutting engagement with the moldboard, a forwardly disposed member positioned in advance of said backing member and having a pair of laterally spaced up and down flat plate bracket portions, a pair of laterally spaced fiat plate bracket portions on said backing member overlapping respectively a portion of the adjacent flat plate portions of said forwardly disposed member, a pivotal connection between said forwardly disposed member and said backing member so that the forwardly disposed member is connected to the backing member for shifting movements toward and away therefrom, the arrangement being such that the flatwise engagement of said plates and bracket portions resists transverse or sidewise movements of the forwardly disposed member relative to the backing member and confines the relative movements therebetween to movements toward and away from each other, and spring means between the backing and forwardly disposed members for resiliently cushioning the rearward movement of the forwardly disposed member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

